Collision avoidance system using telematics unit

ABSTRACT

The various examples disclosed herein relate to systems, methods, and equipment that provide location and velocity monitoring of both a user&#39;s vehicle and another vehicle to avoid collision. The examples are applicable for using on-board telematics units to process that information and provide additional information based thereon such as the probability of collision. In some examples, if the chances of collision are high based on information received, warnings may be given to the vehicle&#39;s user. Based on these warnings, the user may take evasive maneuvers to reduce the probability of collision and prevent it. In other examples, if the chances of collision are high, the vehicle may decelerate without prompting from the user to minimize the impact of the collision. Any emergency reporting by the telematics unit, e.g. if a collision still occurred, may be enhanced with the relative location and velocity data from some interval prior to the emergency.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter relates to techniques and equipment used witha vehicle's telematics unit to wirelessly receive information from othervehicles, such as location and velocity information broadcast from atelematics unit in another motor vehicle, to enable the unit in theuser's vehicle to provide the user with information based on relativelocation and velocity of the two vehicles, such as a warning if there isa likelihood that the vehicles may collide.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, increasingly sophisticated telematics systems have beendeveloped to detect vehicle locations as well as the speed and directionat which the vehicle is traveling. Systems have been developed formonitoring fixed customer locations as well as for vehicle applications.Upon detecting a crash condition, the on-board system activates acellular transceiver to initiate a cellular telephone call to a callcenter of the telematics service provider (TSP). Upon connection to thecall center, the system may communicate certain data, such as locationdetermined by global positioning satellite (GPS) processing,identification data and crash related data. After the data transmission,the call is converted to a voice call in which a TSP representative atthe call center can attempt voice communication with an occupant of thevehicle. The TSP also offers mechanisms for the representative tocontact emergency service personnel in the area, to respondappropriately to the incident. More recently, such systems have beenenhanced to offer other related services, such as navigation serviceslike turn-by-turn directions. GPS based on-board navigation systems havealso become common, which provide the vehicle operator with location andvelocity information. However, these telematics and navigation systemsgenerally do not provide information that may help avoid collisions.

Additionally, on-board systems have been developed that may monitor oneor more sensors to alert the driver of the nearness of certain unseenobstacles, for example, while parking or backing up. Such an on-boardsystem monitors the location and velocity of its vehicle and alerts thedriver of unseen obstacles, such as other vehicles, for example, whenthe other vehicles come within a few feet of the sensors. As anotherexample, adaptive cruise control systems provide an adaptive vehiclespeed control, based on sensing of another vehicle or target in front ofthe host vehicle. Although these sensing technologies provide someproximity information based on direct sensing of another vehicle orobject, the on-board system receives no information about the locationsor velocities of other vehicles in the area. The sensors may not alertthe user of the nearness of other vehicles until it is too late to avoidthese obstacles when traveling at significant speeds. This often resultsin vehicles unexpectedly coming into close proximity at speeds which maymake it impossible to maneuver to avoid each other, thereby allowingcollisions to occur.

SUMMARY

Examples of telematics units are described and shown which provide theuser/driver of a vehicle with information that may help to avoid acollision, based on sensing of the location and speed of the vehicle andreceiving a wireless transmission of location and speed informationregarding another vehicle from a telematics unit in the other vehicle.

For example, a method is disclosed herein for a user's vehicle toreceive location and velocity information from one or more othervehicles and to use such information to determine the probability of acollision to assist in avoidance of such a collision. The telematicsunit on user's vehicle receives the location and velocity informationfrom another vehicle broadcasting the information wirelessly in thearea. Additionally, any vehicle route information from the othervehicle's on-board navigation system may be obtained if such informationexists and is available. In the situation where information for multiplevehicles is received, the user may use the user interface to determinewhich vehicle's location and velocity information to use. Alternatively,the decision may be made based on programming in the telematics unit.

The telematics unit of the user's vehicle also receives informationabout location and velocity of the vehicle through various sensorslocated on the vehicle. Once the information about both vehicles isobtained, the telematics control unit calculates the relative locationand velocity of the two vehicles and outputs the information to the uservia the user interface. The telematics control unit also makescalculations using the relative location and velocity data such as theprobability of collision, the amount of time until a collision occurs,or any other data that may be relevant to avoid a collision. If acollision is imminent, a hazard alert may be sent to the user interfaceto indicate that a collision is likely. Additionally, the user's vehiclemay decelerate in response to certain collision criteria in order toattempt to avoid the collision.

If a collision does occur, the crash data as well as any relativelocation and velocity information and calculations may be sent to thecall center of a telematics service provider. Such information may besent to emergency personnel in order to give them more information aboutthe crash and its severity.

The detailed description discloses examples of devices that may be usedto carry out the process described above. One disclosed example shows atelematics unit with a receiver to receive location and velocityinformation from other vehicles, sensors for obtaining location andvelocity information of the user's vehicle as well as any crash data,and a telematics control unit for determining the relative location andvelocity of the two vehicles and for carrying out any calculations basedthereon. In an example provided, a hazard alert is included when thecalculated information indicates a collision may occur.

In some examples, a network access device is included in the telematicsunit to transmit any relative location and velocity information to thecall center of a telematics service provider. This is used if acollision cannot be avoided and an accident occurs. Additionally, insituations where it is beneficial to transmit the user's vehiclelocation and velocity information to other vehicles in the area, atransmitter is provided. The transmitter takes information obtained fromthe sensors via the telematics control unit and broadcasts thatinformation using a short range broadcast medium.

In other examples, a component capable of receiving location andvelocity information for other vehicles may be added to an existingtelematics unit that lacks that functionality. The component includes areceiver to receive the information from the telematics unit as well assimilar units in other vehicles. This component is connected to theexisting telematics unit so that the component is able to receivelocation and velocity information from the vehicle sensors. Once thisinformation is received, the control unit determines relative locationand velocity and carries out any desired calculations based thereon.This information will be sent back to the existing telematics unit to beoutput to the user via the user interface. A hazard alert is alsoincluded. It may be sent to the user via the interface in the event acollision appears to be imminent. A transmitter may also be included inthe component to broadcast the user vehicle's location and velocityinformation to other vehicles in the area.

The examples of telematics units and method of operation thereofdescribed below and shown in the drawings may provide one or more of thefollowing advantages. One advantage is that the user of a vehicle isable to obtain information about another vehicle directly from thevehicle without traveling through the network. A vehicle user is able toget information beyond the data provided for his own vehicle.Additionally, this information is obtained while the vehicles are stilla significant distance apart unlike when another vehicle is senseddirectly by the vehicle's proximity sensors. This information may allowthe user of the vehicle to maneuver to avoid a collision before gettingclose enough to be detected by direct sensing. Additionally, the unitsand methods provided may alert the user of the possibility of acollision so that the user is not caught unaware. It alerts the vehicleuser to possible obstacles that the user may otherwise overlook. Anotheradvantage is that user's vehicle may also transmit information regardingits own location and velocity to inform other vehicles in the area sothey may also take preventative measures to avoid a collision. Anotheradvantage is that the collision avoidance processing is incorporated inor coupled to a telematics unit, that is to say a system already presentin many vehicles; and as a result it is not necessary to develop anddeploy a separate additional system for collision avoidance. Instead,collision avoidance can leverage and/or enhance services offered via thetelematics unit.

Additional advantages and novel features will be set forth in part inthe description which follows, and in part will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon examination of the following and theaccompanying drawings or may be learned by production or operation ofthe examples. The advantages of the present teachings may be realizedand attained by practice or use of various aspects of the methodologies,instrumentalities and combinations set forth in the detailed examplesdiscussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord withthe present teachings, by way of example only, not by way of limitation.In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similarelements.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a system of networks and otherequipment, for providing wireless communication services for mobilestations and for telematics communications, in which at least sometelematics units are enhanced to offer collision avoidance assistance.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the collision avoidance process and response,which may be implemented by a vehicle's on-board telematics.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary telematics unit,and associated equipment, as may be used in a vehicle application.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a high level representationof the storage that may be provided by the memory in a telematicscontrol unit used in a vehicle application.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary receiving componentthat may be added to an existing telematics unit, as may be used in avehicle application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present teachings may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components,and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, withoutdetail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the presentteachings.

The various examples disclosed herein relate to systems, methods andequipment that provide location and velocity monitoring of both a user'svehicle and another vehicle in the user vehicle's vicinity. Thisinformation may be used to avoid a collision. The examples areapplicable for using on-board telematics units to process thatinformation and provide additional information based on the processedinformation such as the probability of collision. In some examples, ifthe chances of collision are high based on information received,warnings may be given to the vehicle's user. Based on these warnings,the user may take evasive maneuvers to reduce the probability ofcollision and prevent it. In other examples, if the chances of collisionare high, the vehicle may decelerate without prompting from the user tominimize the impact of the collision. Any emergency reporting by thetelematics unit, e.g. if a collision still occurred, may be enhancedwith the relative location and velocity data from some interval prior tothe emergency.

Reference now is made in detail to the examples illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and discussed below. FIG. 1 is a functional blockdiagram of an exemplary system of networks for providing mobile voicetelephone services and various data services, including telematicsservices. In this system, the network 10 is a wireless mobilecommunication network. The network 10 often (but not always) comprisesnetworks operated by a number of different mobile communication serviceproviders, carriers or operators, although for simplicity of discussionnetwork 10 is assumed to be a network operated by one carrier. Thecommunication network 10 provides mobile voice telephone communicationsas well as other services such as text messaging and various multimediapacket data services, for numerous mobile devices. One type of mobiledevice shown in the drawing is users' mobile station 13. The network 10supports a variety of application services. However, for purposes ofdiscussion, the drawings show an example in which one of the applicationservices relates to a telematics service.

Hence, the drawing discloses a first vehicle 121 having an associatedtelematics unit 131 and an on-board navigation system 141. Thetelematics unit 131 alone or in combination with the on-board navigationsystem 141 is configured for location and velocity detection, crashdetection, and related collision avoidance and emergency communicationfunctions. The drawing also shows a second vehicle 122 having anassociated telematics unit 132 and an on-board navigation system 143,similarly configured for location and velocity detection, crashdetection, and related collision avoidance and emergency communicationfunctions.

From the network perspective, the telematics units 131, 132 are anothertype of mobile device that communicates via the wireless mobilecommunication network 10. However, for collisions avoidance, these unitsmay communicate directly with each other without engaging the wirelessmobile communications network 10, using a short range broadcast mediumif they are within a certain distance of each other. The location andvelocity related information as well as other information is sentdirectly from one telematics unit to another without passing through thenetwork.

Hence, the network 10 may implement wireless communications with themobile stations 13 (and similar mobile telematics units 131, 132) viaany of a variety of different standard communication technologies commonin public wireless mobile communication networks. Examples of suchtechnologies include various CDMA standards, including 3GPP2 variantsthereof (e.g. 1XRTT or EVDO), as well as TDMA and GSM standardsincluding 3GPP variants (e.g. LTE or UMTS). The mobile stations 13 andthe communications elements of the telematics units 131, 132 may beconfigured to communicate in accord with the wireless standard supportedby the network 10, and, in addition, using short range broadcast media.Although many such mobile devices have the capability of communicatingvia a number of networks that may utilize different standardizedtechnologies (multi-mode devices). Additionally, the telematics units131, 132 may also be configured to communicate directly in a mannerwithout requiring network access by using, for example, WiFi or anyother suitable short range broadcast medium for direct communicationsoutside the network.

The mobile communication network 10 typically is implemented by a numberof interconnected networks. Hence, the overall network 10 may include anumber of radio access networks (RANs) each including any number of basestations (BSs) 19, as well as regional ground networks interconnecting anumber of RANs and a wide area network (WAN) interconnecting theregional ground networks to core network elements. A regional portion ofthe network 10, such as that serving mobile stations 13 and thetelematics units 131, 132, will typically include one or more RANs and aregional circuit and/or packet switched network and associated signalingnetwork facilities.

The radio access networks also include or connect to a traffic networkrepresented generally by the cloud shown at 16, which carries the usercommunications for the mobile stations 13 and the telematics units 131,132 between the telematics service provider call center 17 and otherelements with or through which the various wireless mobile devicescommunicate. Individual elements such as switches and/or routers formingthe traffic network 15 are omitted here for simplicity. The emergencycommunications extend through a wireless network offering mobilecommunication service to data and voice communication equipment at theTSP call center 17. In a typical operation, the telematics unit 131 (orthe telematics unit 132) will detect a vehicle condition indicating acrash or other emergency condition of the vehicle 121 or will detectactuation of an “emergency” or “panic” button associated with thetelematics unit 131 by a user of the vehicle. In response, telematicsunit 131 initiates communication through the mobile communicationelements of the network 10 with TSP call center 17.

FIG. 2 illustrates the simplified logic or processing steps, which maybe implemented by a telematics unit in order to provide the user of avehicle with relative location and velocity information of anothervehicle. The first step involves receiving location and velocityinformation of one or more other vehicles in the general vicinity (asdetected at S1). Examples discussed more below include additionalinformation transmitted wirelessly from a similar telematics unitslocated on the other vehicle.

In the current example, a wireless message containing location andvelocity information is received from another vehicle within a limitedarea such as within a radius of several hundred to a thousand feet or soaround the vehicle. The broadcast area will depend on the particularcharacteristics of the short range broadcast medium. For example, insome short range broadcast media, the range could be approximately fivehundred feet. Those of ordinary skill will recognize that the broadcastmedia and range discussed above are given by way of example only and itshould be recognized that one of ordinary skill may adapt such media tomeet the desired broadcast specifications for the collision avoidanceapplication herein.

In some examples, the receiver may receive location and velocityinformation from more than one vehicle at step S2. Where there is morethan one vehicle in the area, determination of what vehicle data to usemust be made at step S3. This decision may be based on the distance fromthe user's vehicle, the speed at which the other vehicle in traveling,or whether the vehicle is getting closer or moving away. In someexamples, this determination may be made by the user via the userinterface. The user may chose which criteria to use in making thedetermination e.g., distance, speed, or GPS location of the othervehicle. Once the target vehicle is chosen, the telematics control unitwill use the vehicle's location and velocity information and combine itwith its own location and velocity information as discussed below. Inother examples, the telematics control unit may be programmed to makethe determination using any of the criteria above or any other suitablecriteria that may be desired.

After the other vehicle has been selected and its location and velocityinformation is obtained at step S4, the telematics unit determines itsown location and velocity at step S5. The user vehicle receives its ownlocation and velocity information from a sensor or sensors located onthe vehicle much like those used by current GPS navigation devices. Thelocation and velocity information may be constantly monitored for theoperator as such information is needed for on-board system navigationfeatures such as turn-by-turn directions.

Information regarding the location and velocity of both vehicles will becombined and processed by the telematics control unit and the relativelocation and velocity of the vehicles will be determined a step S6. Thetelematics control unit processes the information using software or analgorithm that will calculate the relative location and velocity as wellas carry out any additional functions based on the information asdesired. Among others, these functions may include calculating theprobability of collision, determining when such a collision may occur,and the specific location information of the other vehicle. In someexamples, where both the user's telematics unit and the other vehicle'sunit are parts of on-board navigation systems, calculations may takeinto account vehicle routing information for the user vehicle as well asfor the other vehicle if available. For example, routing information mayindicate that the user's vehicle will make a turn and divert from itspresent course. If it is determined based on relative location andvelocity information that the user's vehicle will turn beforeintersecting with the other vehicle, or vice versa, the probability ofcollision will be reduced.

Once the relative location and velocity information is determined, thisinformation will be used to determine if a hazard is present at step S7.In some examples, determination of a hazard will be based on probabilityof collision calculations based on the relative location and velocityinformation received. This information will be used to determine whatresponse, if any, should be taken by the vehicle.

If no hazard is detected or the hazard is minimal based on the relativelocation and velocity information, certain data may be output to theuser via a user interface based on the information calculated by thetelematics control unit at step S8. This information may include anindication that user's driving route is without obstacles, theprobability of collision, the amount of time until a collision occurs,and maneuvering suggestions.

Alternatively, when the relative location and velocity calculationsindicate there is a hazard, an assessment may be made regarding thelevel of risk based on certain collision hazard criteria at step S9. Ifa collision with the user's vehicle is likely, the vehicle may issue ahazard alert or, in some circumstances, automatically respond to avoidthe collision. If an automatic response is not warranted, a hazard alertwill be provided along with the other information sent to user at stepS10. The hazard alert may be audible or visual. If audio is used, thehazard alert may come in the form of a beep, an alarm, a voice warningfrom the on-board navigation system, or any other suitable audio medium.The hazard alert may also be a visual warning on the user interface. Insome examples, there may be different levels or types of hazard alertsbased on particular collision hazard criteria. Such criteria may includethe probability of collision, the type of collision such as a frontcollision or rear end collision, or any other suitable criteria. Forexample, the hazard alert may change as the level of risk changes, asindicated by the collision hazard criteria. If the collision hazardcriteria indicates a risk is moderate, the hazard alert may come in theform of a repeating audible beep. The frequency of the beep may increaseas the level of risk increased or, alternatively, the beep may becomelouder. A light that blinks faster or brighter as the level of hazardrisk increases also may be used.

If the collision hazard criteria indicate that a collision is imminent,certain components and functions may be triggered in order to attempt toavoid the collision or reduce its severity. For example, the vehicle maytake evasive maneuvers automatically in response to the collision hazardcriteria without prompting from the user. Such a response may includecausing the vehicle to decelerate in order to avoid a collision or otherhazard as indicated at step S11.

In some examples, a collision may not be able to be avoided. If it isdetermined that a collision has occurred at step S12, relative locationand velocity information from some interval prior to the collision mayalso be transmitted to the call center of a telematics service providerat step S13. Such information may be useful if a collision cannot beavoided, but it should be noted that sending the location and velocityinformation to the call center may be useful in other situations aswell. Using the information obtained from the control unit, the callcenter is able to determine the speed at which the vehicles weretraveling prior to the collision as well as the direction they weremoving at the time. The call center may relay this information to lawenforcement personnel so that they may determine the type of collisionand estimate its severity.

Different examples are discussed below (with regard to FIG. 3 and FIG.5) for enabling an on-board vehicle telematics unit to receive locationand velocity information directly from another vehicle, which arecapable of carrying out the methods described above. FIG. 3 illustratesa telematics unit that includes a receiver for receiving informationdirectly from other vehicles. FIG. 5 illustrates a receiving componentthat may be added to an existing telematics unit in order to carry outthe methods and functions discussed herein. Activities involved inobtaining location and velocity based data are implemented bycommunication with the telematics unit and/or involve responsiveprocessing in that unit. It is assumed that those skilled in the art aregenerally familiar with the structure, programming, and operations ofmobile stations and telematics units that utilize mobile communicationtransceivers similar to those of mobile stations. However, to fullyunderstand the relevant communication and processing under discussionhere, it may be helpful to some readers to consider a summary discussionof the structure and programming of an example of a telematics unit andrelated device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary telematics unit 15 andassociated equipment, as may be used in a motor vehicle. The telematicsunit 15 includes a telematics control unit (TCU) 61 and a wirelessNetwork Access Device (NAD) 63. The TCU 61 may be implemented as amicroprocessor (μP) 74 with one or more memories 76, an interface 72 tovehicle equipment, an interconnection to the NAD 63, and programming toimplement the emergency monitoring and notification functions.Microprocessor 74 acts as a controller for controlling all operations ofthe TCU 61. Microprocessor 74 is a programmable controller. Programmingin the memory 76 of the TCU 61, for example, enables the TCUmicroprocessor 74 to process the data received from other vehicles inthe vicinity via receiver 30 and location and velocity information ofthe user's vehicle from sensors 67. Additionally, TCU 61 works as aprocessor with memories, interfaces, and programming to implementrelative location and velocity monitoring and notification functions.TCU 61 may also process location and velocity information obtained viathe interface 72 to detect a collision hazard condition and provide ahazard alert. Information may also be processed to detect occurrence ofa collision or other the emergency condition, and, in response, instructthe NAD 63 to initiate an emergency call to the telematics serviceprovider (TSP).

It may also be helpful to briefly discuss programming and data storageof the TCU 61. FIG. 4 is a high level representation of the storage thatmay be provided by the memory 76 and thus of relevant data andprogramming that may be stored and/or loaded into portions of the memory76 of the TCU. As shown, a portion 97 stores telematics service dataused by the TSP, such as customer identification data, vehicleidentification, and/or security keys. Some of this data may bepermanently stored in the portion 97 of the TCU memory 76, whereas someof the telematics service data may be downloaded after the unit isinstalled in the vehicle.

Another portion 99 of the memory 76 stores programming that is to beexecuted by the microprocessor 74 of the TCU 61. The programmingtypically includes an operating system (OS) including various devicedrivers, e.g. for communication with various vehicle systems and sensorsvia the bus 65, and for communication with the receiver 30 and with theNAD 63. The programming will also include a telematics application 115running on the OS, to enable the microprocessor 74 to implement regulartelematics functions, such as vehicle diagnostics, monitoring of vehiclelocation and velocity, detection of emergency conditions, communicationswith other vehicle via the receiver 30, and communications via the NAD63 and the network to report emergencies, and the like.

The collision avoidance application 107 enables the microprocessor 74 tocarry out calculations based on location and velocity informationobtained via the receiver 30 and/or through the sensors 67. Data may beprocessed by carrying out of programming code in the form of software,firmware, or microcode running on one or more of the controllers. Thesoftware functionalities involve programming, including executable codeas well as associated stored data, for causing the telematics unit todetermine relative location and velocity of the user's vehicle andanother vehicle, perform additional calculations based on such data, andimplement a hazard alert or emergency detection based on such data. Forexample, the collision avoidance application 107 may trigger thetelematics application 115 to implement different alerts, warnings, oravoidance maneuvers based on programmed collision avoidance criteria andcalculations based thereon. Such alerts may include audio and/or visualalerts as well as active collision avoidance maneuvers such as causingthe vehicle to decelerate in response to a certain perceived level ofthreat.

Code for implementing the telematics functions may be in the form ofcomputer instruction in any form (e.g. source code, object code,interpreted code, etc.) stored in or carried by any computer or machinereadable medium. In operation, the executable code is stored in an areaof memory or the like within the respective telematics unit. At othertimes, however, the programming may be stored at other locations andtransported for loading into respective equipment, e.g. into theparticular unit from another unit such as when a receiving component isadded to an already existing telematics unit as discussed more below.

Hence, implementations of the teachings presented herein may involve oneor more software products in the form of one or more modules ofexecutable code and/or data carried by at least one machine readable.Execution of such code by a processor or the like of a telematicscontrol unit enable the unit to implement steps such as outlined abovein the discussion of the collision avoidance.

Returning to FIG. 3, the TCU 61 is also programmed to process wirelessdata received through the receiver 30. Such information includeslocation and velocity information received from other vehicles in thevicinity, often through the telematics unit of the other vehicle. Insome examples, additional information about the other vehicle may betransmitted as well. For example, if the other vehicle has an on-boardnavigation system with similar features, vehicle routing information maybe sent as such information may increase or decrease the likelihood of acollision as discussed more in detail below. Similar information may betransmitted from the user's vehicle to the telematics unit of anothervehicles in the area using transmitter 18.

The receiver provides the data received to the microprocessor 74. In thecurrent example, the receiver 30 is directly connected to microprocessor74 but one of ordinary skill will recognize that it may also beconnected through the vehicle bus 65. The receiver 30 is directed towardshort range communications. It receives wireless messages broadcastwirelessly directly from other vehicles within the range of a shortrange broadcast medium unlike the NAD 63 which transmits and receivesmessages from the TSP call center. Because the receiver 30 does notcommunicate with the TSP call center, WiFi and/or other short rangebroadcast media may be used to carry the wireless messages transmitted.The range will depend on the particular characteristics of the shortrange broadcast medium used. In some examples, the range isapproximately five hundred feet.

It should be noted that at least one sensor must be capable ofdetermining location by global position satellite (GPS) processing. Inthe current example, the GPS sensor is at least one of the sensors 67.The GPS sensor is connected to the TCU 61 through vehicle bus 65 but itshould be understood that the GPS sensor may be connected though othercomponents as well. For example, the GPS sensor may be a GPS transceiverlocated within the NAD 63.

Looking to the current example, the GPS sensor, under control of themicroprocessor 74 receives and processes signals from one or moresatellites of the GPS constellation of GPS satellites. From itsprocessing, the GPS sensor supplies GPS data to the microprocessor 74,such as pseudorange measurements and associated pseudorandom number (PN)codes for measured satellite signals. Associated computations may beperformed in the microprocessor or by a processor or the like includedin the GPS sensor to obtain a final fix (latitude and longitudecoordinates) as the location of the vehicle. The microprocessorprocesses the location data over time to determine velocity (directionand speed of travel).

In some examples, it may be beneficial to transmit the location andvelocity information obtained via microprocessor 74 to similar vehiclesin the area. In order to transmit the data, a transmitter 18 is used.The transmitter 18 may be connected to TCU 61 and may broadcast locationand velocity information obtained via the sensors 67 using antenna 109.As illustrated in FIG. 2, antenna 109 is used to transmit informationfrom transmitter 18 and receive information from receiver 30 but it willbe apparent to one of ordinary skill that antenna 109 may be omitted andthe transmitter and receiver may be connected directly to antenna 79 inthe NAD 63. The wireless messages transmitted by transmitter 18 using ashort range broadcast medium similar to that used for receiver 30 suchas WiFi. In some examples, receiver and transmitter may be replaced by,or part of, a transceiver for carrying out both transmitting andreceiving.

A vehicle typically includes a vehicle bus, shown at 65 in FIG. 3, forproviding digital data communications among various on-boarddevices/systems, particularly for vehicle diagnostics purposes. Inaddition to GPS monitoring, the vehicle also includes one or moresensors 67 for detecting conditions that may indicate an obstacle oremergency. The vehicle bus 65 provides the continuous electricalconnection within the vehicle for the communication of diagnostics datafrom the sensors 67 to the TCU 61. The TCU 61 is programmed to processdata received from the sensors to monitor the GPS location and velocityof the vehicle as well as to detect any possible emergency including avehicle crash and to generate data regarding the detected crash, e.g. toindicate severity. The vehicle may also include a panic button 69 whichmay also be used as an emergency detector. The panic button is coupledto and communicates with the TCU 61 via the vehicle bus 65. A vehicleoccupant may activate the panic button 69 in the event of an emergency.If a crash occurs, an emergency detector will be triggered. In someexamples, the emergency detector may be a crash responsive sensor amongsensors 67.

The TCU 61 may determine that there has been an emergency event thatwarrants a report to the TSP call center. This may occur in response tocrash detection information from the processing of the data from thesensors 67 or in response to activation of the panic button 69 by thevehicle user. In response to any determination of a collision or anemergency condition, the TCU 61 activates the NAD 63 to initiate thecommunication with the TSP call center.

The NAD 63 acts as the communications tool for entry to the wide areawireless network via cellular communications. NAD 63 will send a signalto the TSP call center alerting the call center of the possibleemergency. The NAD 63 is a wireless transceiver unit configured forcommunications via the wireless communication facilities of the mobilenetwork and associated landline facilities.

The NAD 63 is generally similar to a wireless mobile station configuredfor voice and data communications. It is assumed that those skilled inthe art are familiar with the structure and operation of mobile stationsand thus with the structure and operation of generally similar devicesthat may be used to implement the NAD 63. To ensure a full understandingby all readers, however, it may be helpful to consider a high levelsummary review of the relevant structure of one example of a NAD 63.

The NAD 63 supports both data communication and voice communication. Forthe voice communication function, the vehicle will include a microphone71 for audio signal input and a speaker 73 for audio signal output. Themicrophone 71 and the speaker 73 connect to voice coding and decodingcircuitry (vocoder) 75 within the NAD 63. During a voice telephone typecommunication with the TSP call center, for example, the vocoder 75provides two-way conversion between analog audio signals representingspeech or other audio and digital samples at a compressed bit ratecompatible with the digital protocol of the wireless networkcommunications.

For digital wireless communications, the NAD 63 also includes a digitaltransceiver (XCVR) 77. The transceiver 77 may be used to transfer anyinformation obtained regarding the location and velocity of the vehicle,any information regarding relative location and velocity of the user'svehicle and another vehicle, and any additional crash relatedinformation obtained by sensors 67 to the call center. The conceptsdiscussed here encompass embodiments of the NAD 63 utilizing any digitaltransceivers that conform to current or future developed digitalwireless communication standards. For example, the digital transceiver77 may be a CDMA transceiver compatible with operation via an IS-95network or a 1x-RTT network, to provide both voice and/or datacommunications.

The transceiver 77 provides two-way wireless communication ofinformation, such as vocoded speech samples and digital messageinformation. The transceiver 77 also sends and receives a variety ofsignaling messages in support of the various communications provided viathe NAD 63 and the various wireless network facilities. The transceiver77 connects through RF send and receive amplifiers (not separatelyshown) to an antenna 79. It should be noted that antenna 79 might alsobe used by receiver 30 to obtain GPS information. Although antenna 79 islocated in the NAD 63 in the current example, it may also be coupled tothe TCU 61. In the current example, receiver 30 is also connected to theantenna 109 but in other examples antenna 109 may be omitted andreceiver 30 may be connected to antenna 79 as well.

The NAD 63 may include one or more additional transceivers, as shown indotted line form, for operation in an analog mode or in accord with analternative digital standard, such as EVDO. In the event of a crash,information obtained from the sensors 67 (e.g. location and type ofemergency event), information obtained via receiver 30 (e.g. locationand velocity of the other vehicle), and any calculations based thereonwill be transferred to the NAD 63 to be communicated to the call centerof the TSP. This information, stored in TCU 61, may be transferred frommicroprocessor 74 of TCU 61 to microprocessor 81 of NAD 63.

A microprocessor 81 acts as a control unit for controlling alloperations of the NAD 63. The microprocessor 81 is a programmablecontrol unit. The NAD 63 also includes flash type program memory 83and/or a non-volatile random access memory (RAM) 85, for storing varioussoftware routines and mobile configuration settings, for use by themicroprocessor 81. The actual emergency dialing program implemented bythe telematics unit may be stored in the flash memory 83 of the NAD 63.Alternatively, this programming may be stored in program memory of theTCU 61.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the distribution ofprogramming as between the TCU 61 and the NAD 63 is only given here byway of example. Programming functions may be shifted between these twoelements of the telematics unit 15. For example, the actual emergencydialing program implemented by the telematics unit may be stored in theflash memory 83 of the NAD 63 or this programming may be stored inprogram section 107 of the memory 76 of the TCU 61. Another approachmight integrate the TCU and NAD into a single unit and thus combineprogramming for those elements.

If more that one vehicle in the broadcast range is transmitting itslocation and velocity information, the receiver 30 will receive thebroadcasts from all vehicles. A decision must be made regarding whichvehicle to use when the TCU 61 calculates information based on relativelocation and velocity. This decision may be made in a variety of ways.For example, the decision may be made by TCU 61 based on predeterminedcriteria. This criteria may include the speed at which the other vehicleis traveling, the other vehicle's distance from the user's vehicle, orwhether the other vehicle is moving toward or away from the user'svehicle. The TCU 61 may be programmed to decide which vehicleinformation to use or, in some examples, the user may decide using theuser interface 68.

The user interface 68 usually includes one or more elements such as akeypad and display for non-emergency input/output functions. In someexamples, the keypad and display may be replaced by a touch display. Theuser interface 68 may also include an audio output component thatprovides audio output within the vehicle. This audio output may besupplied through the vehicle speaker system or other audio outputs inthe vehicle. The vehicle bus 65 provides digital data communicationsbetween the user interface 68 and the TCU 61.

Of note for purposes of this discussion, input by a user via the keys ortouch display of the user interface 68 will trigger the TCU 61 to chosea particular vehicle from a plurality of vehicles in the broadcastrange. If information is available for more than one vehicle, eachvehicle may show up on the display. In some examples, the vehicles mayshow up as icons and, in others, they may be organized into a listsorted by certain criteria (e.g. distance from the user's vehicle). Theuser may key in information to identify which vehicle should be used byTCU 61 to determine relative location and velocity information.

Based on information resulting from the relative location and velocitycalculations performed by microprocessor collision hazards may bedetected and warnings or alerts sent to the user via the user interface68. The hazard alert may show up as a visual alert on the display of theuser interface 68. It also may be an audio alert via the vehicle speakersystem or any other suitable audio medium. As explained above, differentcollision hazard criteria based on the relative location and velocity ofthe vehicles may trigger different responses or alerts. As the level ofrisk as indicated by the collision hazard criteria increases, a visualwarning such as a light may become brighter or blink faster while anaudio warning may become louder or increase its frequency. In someexamples where the collision hazard criteria indicates that a collisionis imminent, the TCU 61 may cause the vehicle to decelerate withoutinput from the user. This may allow the vehicle to avoid the collisionor reduce its severity.

The structure and operation of the telematics unit 15 with the TCU 61and the NAD 63, as outlined above, were described to by way of example,only. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the telematics unit15 may be implemented and may operate in a variety of other ways.

The above examples assume the receiver 30 is a component withintelematics unit 15. However, if the telematics unit is not initiallyconfigured to obtain information from other similarly equipped vehiclesor to perform the desired function based on that information, a separatereceiving unit may be added to or incorporated in the existingtelematics unit of an already existing on-board system in order to carryout these functions. An exemplary receiving unit is shown in FIG. 5. Inthis example, receiving unit 50 includes various components including areceiver 90, a transmitter 110, and a controller 52 made up of amicroprocessor 101 and a memory 105. Receiving unit 50 communicates withthe existing telematics unit 15 via the vehicle bus 65. In otherexamples, microprocessor 101 may be directly connected to microprocessor74.

An antenna 112 may be included in receiving unit 50 for use by thecontroller 52 and receiver 90 for receiving broadcast signals. Thereceiver 90 may function in essentially the same way as receiver 30described above. The receiver 90 may receive location and velocityinformation transmitted from another vehicle using a short rangebroadcast medium. Controller 52 may be made up of microprocessor 101 andat least one memory unit 105. Microprocessor 101 is configured tocommunicate with TCU 61 and can be used to signal TCU 61 to sendinformation regarding the user's vehicle location and velocity datastored in TCU 61. Additionally, microprocessor 101 can be configured todetermine the relative location and velocity information for the twovehicles as well as to carry out any other calculations based thereon.The programming necessary to carry out the location and velocitycalculations as well as any other programming necessary to allowreceiving unit 50 to communicate with telematics unit 15 may be storedin memory unit 105. After the desired information and calculations areobtained, microprocessor 101 may send this information to TCU 61 so thatTCU 61 may output the information to the user via the user interface 68.

As above, in the situation where location and velocity transmissions arereceived by the receiver from more that one vehicle in the vicinity, adetermination must be made with regard to which vehicle information touse. In some examples, the microprocessor 101 is configured to make thatdetermination based on certain collision hazard criteria such as thedistance from the user's car, the speed at which the other vehicles aretraveling, and/or the direction in which the cars are traveling. Inother examples, the location and velocity information for the vehiclesis transferred to TCU 61 so that the user may determine which vehicle touse via the user interface. Once the user identifies which vehicle totrack, that information is sent back to controller 52 so thatmicroprocessor 101 can determine relative location and velocity of thetwo vehicles along with any other calculations based on that informationsuch as the probability of collision, time until collision, and anyother desired calculation based on the information. If the calculationsindicate that a risk of a hazard exists, this information will betransferred to TCU 61 so that a hazard alert may be sent to the user viathe user interface.

All relative velocity determinations and calculations thereon areperformed by microprocessor 101 in the above example. However, one ofordinary skill will recognize that such calculations may also occur onmicroprocessor 74. In some examples, the information required to carryout the desired calculations could be downloaded from memory unit 105and transferred to microprocessor 74 by any appropriate means andprogramming known to one of ordinary skill during the installation ofthe receiving unit 50. In such an example, the receiver 90 may receivelocation and velocity information which may be sent by controller 52 toTCU 61 for further use. For convenience of illustration, separatemicroprocessors 74, 101 exist, but it should be noted that onemicroprocessor may be programmed to carry out all functions. In such anexample, memory unit 105 may contain the necessary programming to sendto the microprocessor on the preexisting telematics unit so that it maybe programmed to carry out the functions as desired.

In addition to receiving information, an additional transmitter 110 mayalso be included in the receiving unit 50. Transmitter 110 functions inessentially the same way as transmitter 18 discussed above. Location andvelocity information is obtained from sensors 67 and sent to TCU 61which then sends the information to receiving unit 50 to be broadcast bytransmitter 110 using a short range broadcast medium. In an alternativeexample, receiving unit 50 could be configured to obtain informationfrom sensors 67 directly through vehicle bus 65. In some examples, thereceiver 90 and transmitter 110 of the receiving unit 50 may be replacedby a transceiver for carrying out both transmitting and receiving.

The structure and operation of the telematics unit 15 with the TCU 61and the NAD 63, as well as receiving unit 50 as outlined above, weredescribed to by way of example only. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that the telematics unit 15 and receiving unit 50 may beimplemented and may operate in a variety of other ways.

While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the bestmode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modificationsmay be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may beimplemented in various forms and examples, and that the teachings may beapplied in numerous applications, only some of which have been describedherein. It is intended by the following claims to claim any and allapplications, modifications and variations that fall within the truescope of the present teachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for a vehicle, comprising: a userinterface for providing information to and receiving information from auser of the vehicle, the user interface including either a touch displayor a keypad and a display; a system of one or more sensors for sensinglocation and velocity of the user's vehicle; a short range transmitterfor direct wireless broadcast of data regarding the sensed location andvelocity of the user's vehicle without engaging the public wirelessmobile communications network; a short range receiver for directwireless reception of wirelessly broadcast data regarding location andvelocity of any other vehicle within the short range of the user'svehicle without engaging the public wireless mobile communicationsnetwork; a telematics unit, comprising: an emergency detector fordetecting an emergency condition, and a network access device includinga wireless transceiver for wireless cellular communication via thepublic wireless mobile communication network for voice and/or telemetrycommunication with a call center of a telematics service provider; and acontrol unit, responsive to a detected emergency condition to controlthe network access device of the telematics unit to report the detectedemergency condition through the public wireless mobile network to thecall center and responsive to the system of one or more sensors and theshort range receiver, for controlling information output for the uservia the user interface, wherein the control unit also is configured to:receive, from the user via the keypad or the touch display of the userinterface, a selection of a collision hazard criteria from among aplurality of collision hazard criteria, when data is directly receivedfrom a plurality of other vehicles within the short range of the user'svehicle without engaging the public wireless mobile communicationsnetwork, select another vehicle from among the plurality of othervehicles based on the user-selected collision hazard criteria, processthe location and velocity of the user's vehicle and the received dataregarding location and velocity of the selected other vehicle to detecta collision hazard relative to the selected other vehicle and detect oneof a plurality of levels of risk of collision relative to the selectedother vehicle, and responsive to the detections, cause the userinterface to output a hazard alert indicating the detected level of riskof collision relative to the selected other vehicle.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the network access device communicates informationbased on relative location and velocity of the user's vehicle and theselected other vehicle to the public wireless mobile communicationnetwork and provides additional information to the user based on theinformation from the control unit.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein theshort range receiver is configured to receive data regarding locationand velocity from a telematics unit and/or routing information from anon-board navigation system of each of the plurality of other vehicles.4. The system of claim 1, wherein the hazard alert is a visual and/oraudio warning to the user.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the controlunit is further configured to cause to vehicle to decelerate in responseto the detected level of risk of collision.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the control unit is further configured to receive data regardinglocation and velocity information of each of the plurality of othervehicles.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the collision hazardcriteria are used to select one or more metrics for determining whetherthe hazard is present.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the metricsused for determining whether the hazard is present include at least oneof distances between the user's vehicle and vehicles of the plurality ofother vehicles, speed of vehicles of the plurality of other vehicles,and global positioning satellite (GPS) location of other vehicles of theplurality of other vehicles.